Nicolas Cage thought about retiring after Dream Scenario.
The 62-year-old actor has revealed he considered stepping away from his career as a performer following his acclaimed turn in the 2023 comedy drama, because he was struggling to figure out what his next move should be.
Asked if he ever considered retirement, he told Extra: “I was thinking along those lines after Dream Scenario because I didn’t know what else I could do with cinema.
"Then I did think, okay, maybe I’ll keep acting, because I have to, out of necessity, which you know, necessity is the mother of invention.
"I thought, all right, let’s try something else. So it's, what's next? Television. What's next? Maybe stage."
Cage, who admitted "you can never say never" and he's "open" to the idea of Broadway, ended up taking on the role as Spider-Man Noir and his alternate alter-ego Ben Reilly in Amazon Prime Video's upcoming series Spider-Noir.
He explained: "I'm just trying to learn more and more, and I felt after I finished the series of Spider-Noir, it did empower me.
"I felt like, 'Wow, I actually did it. I got through a season of television.' It's not easy.
"You have different directors. It's almost like a factory dynamic and you've gotta fit in that and you've gotta make it work and still be amusing and entertaining."
After Dream Scenario, Cage felt like he'd said everything he could "with cinema", and so made sense to join his first television series.
He said: "What can I do to learn? Where can I go next?
"I got to a point after Dream Scenario where I was just like, you know, I think I’ve said everything I’ve had to say with cinema. I don’t know what else to do."
The actor, whose recent career resurgence has included acclaimed performances in Pig, Dream Scenario and horror thriller Longlegs, has remained a constant fascination for movie fans thanks to his unpredictable mix of prestige dramas, surreal indies and action franchises that have defined his career since films such as Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off and National Treasure.
Cage recently explained that he has never wanted to limit himself to either heroes or villains during his career.
He told PEOPLE magazine: “I’ve played plenty of villains. I like both.
“I think they’re both important parts of cinema. I would not want to get trapped into doing one thing.”
